JP - Lt Com. Taybrim and Prof. Strekk - Explosive Research (NT)

[Jamie LeBlanc]

((Laboratories - StarBase 118))

::Even if Leo Handley-Page had been on station, it was still likely that the job of talking down Professor Strekk would have still fallen to Sal Taybrim. That had far less to do with the idea of 'passing the buck' and far more to do with the fact that of all the officers on the station, Sal had the unique background of science, counseling and diplomacy. So he could understand the science that would be throw at him, speak diplomatically in an effort to keep things under control and psychoanalyze the man who, from the very short commline conversation, was a ... unique ... personality.

He tugged on his tunic to straighten it before ringing the chime on the civilian sector lab that the computer indicated was Professor Strekk's.::

:: Beya was doing her best to tidy the laboratory for the Commander’s visit, not being helped by the fact that every time she tidied away some papers or other equipment, the scatty Professor would create a new mess of detritus somewhere else in lab.::

Beya: Professor, the Commander will be here any moment. You don’t want him to think we run an untidy lab?

:: Strekk scowled at her.::

Strekk: You cannot contain or restrain genius!

:: Beya sighed and carried on as best she could. Just then, the door chimed.::

Strekk: What? Who? Already?!

:: Beya cleared her throat.::

Beya: Who is it?

Taybrim: Commander Taybrim, here to speak with Professor Strekk.

Beya: Commander, one second.

:: Beya pressed the door release and allowed the Starbase’s C.O. to enter. Beya wasn’t sure if she was to salute, curtsy or just keep quiet.::

::He lingered in the doorway as the door opened taking in the sights. The man, his assistant, the pungent odors that hung in the air giving the whole lab a cloying sense of sweetness. It reminded Sal of the descriptions of ancient Betazoid temples where intoxicating incenses were burned to help the faithful connect telepathically for an epiphany. Then again it also reminded him of the descriptions of ancient Terra where hatters would work with toxic chemicals to produce things for the fashion industry at the expense of their faculties and grey matter. He believed the phrase was 'mad as a hatter...':

Taybrim: ::Offering a hand out:: Professor Strekk? Commander Taybrim. I came because you had some concerns... ::he trailed off as the man started speaking.::

:: Nathanius Strekk, his wild white hair looking like it was trying to attach itself to the ceiling by invisible threads, dropped a pile of tubes onto the bench, before bustling over to the ginger-haired Commander and gripped his hand.::

Strekk: ::abruptly:: Yes I am Professor Strekk, we need to talk.

:: Without another word, the Professor released the officer’s hand and bustled back to his bench.::

Strekk : It’s the liquor or more accurately it’s molecular compound… ::muttering:: Very bizarre and worrisome…

:: He continued to search amongst his papers, not making eye contact with Taybrim.::

Taybrim: ::He edged forward, the same way a person moves when working with a wild beast:: You wanted to talk, professor… ::He prompted gently::

:: Beya stepped forward sheepishly.::

Beya: Would you like a drink Commander?

:: Strekk interrupted.::

Strekk: Yes, chop chop. I thought you’d never ask. Mint tea, hot.

:: Beya gave the Commander an apologetic look.::

Beya: And for you, Sir?

::Sal’s eyes flickered between Beya and Strekk, understanding this relationship all too well. The apologetic look was returned with a gaze of sympathy.::

Taybrim: I’ll have water, please. ::Anything stronger would be saved for after this meeting::

Beya: Yes, right away…

:: Beya scurried off to the replicator as Strekk found what he was looking for. He brandished the paper in front of the Commander’s face, far too close and too quickly for anyone except maybe a Soong Android to be able to read.::

Strekk: What do you make of that then?

Taybrim: ::Taking a step back:: I uh… paper. Haven’t seen that in a while. IS that actual ink or are you using graphite… I can’t quite tell.

:: Even Strekk had a moment of realisation that perhaps he should be a little clearer. He handed the paper to Sal, showing information about the highly unstable compounds of certain liquors being sold in the station.::

Strekk: Look see??

Taybrim: ::He took the paper in his hand and marveled for a second that people actually used to use this stuff all the time. It seemed so clunky. So inefficient. even if it could be perfectly recycled, the storage had to have been a pain.:: Ok, these are the chemical breakdowns of alcohol chains.

Strekk: Yes, yes that’s it! You see, how…

:: Strekk gesticulated at the paper with flustered hands. He wanted the Commander to look at then end he had his most important calculations on.::

::Sal blinked, turning the paper 90 degrees and reading down the side. This would be easier if Strekk’s organizational system was something other than ‘pure chaos’::

Taybrim: Ok… so which liquors have you tested?

Strekk: A whole range, from a variety of outlets. For example, we looked at Snaggle Blast, Toastington Special, Gold Dew and Amazing Grace. They all had signs of.. :: he paused, not wanting to blind the man with science, as he often did to lesser intellects.:: … being bad for the drinkers if you understand my drift?

Taybrim: ::he clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth:: Professor, imagine for a moment you’re talking to someone who spent ten years working science in the civilian sector and another year in science in Starfleet. You don’t have to give me layman’s terms.

:: Strekk nodded in understanding. He was a little perplexed about never quite seeming to get his level right. One moment he was talking over the heads of everyone, then the first time he tried to lower himself to their level he was accused of being patronizing.::

Strekk: In a nutshell, the molecular compounds of all these branded liquors are unstable, although with quite different results. The Blast and Grace become highly toxic at concentrated levels, and this effect increases exponentially the warmer the liquid is. Fortunately it takes temperatures in excess of one hundred degree celsius for those effects to kick in.

::Sal paused for a moment or three. He was pretty sure the entire point of alcohol was to be toxic, it was also what produced that delightful drunk feeling. But most any bartender or sane person understood that too much liquor equaled blood alcohol poisoning.

And no sane bar would serve a boiling hot drink...::

Taybrim: Is this all? ::he queried gently, diplomatically::

Strekk: Oh, and the others are more vague. The Toastington forms a thick viscous substance when mixed with sucrose, quite unpleasant if swallowed simultaneously in large enough quantities. And as for the Gold Dew, it seems to behave like a volatile accelerant but only if mixed with compounds that fortunately don’t seem present.

Taybrim: ::nodding slowly. Sure, it was interesting scientific research, but nothing jumped out saying any of these substances were more dangerous than what was already commonly known about legal intoxicants:: This is interesting research, professor… ::he started and took a breath. He should have known not to breathe, it gave Strekk an opening::

:: The old man huffed and puffed.::

Strekk: I knew liquor was a dangerous vice!

Taybrim: Well, that is why every licensed bartender on this station goes through an extensive safe service course. All the establishments with clean records pride themselves on knowledgeable staff and controlled serving of alcoholic beverages. And all establishments without a clean record are suspended from service liquor.

Strekk: Well then.. :: puffing his chest out with self-importance:: clearly the checks are inadequate. I have warned them for years, but my intellect is unappreciated here.

Taybrim: ::blinking, he should have expected it wouldn’t be easy:: Well, unfortunately Professor, while I can give you all the proper contacts for the Federation Food and Ingestible Substance Administration, I have no authority on declaring any particular substance as legal, restricted or otherwise. Unless there is a measurable threat to station security, the laws state that all these beverages are legal to serve by licensed servers and distributors.

Strekk: This is most outrageous. Surely there is something you can do?!?!?

:: Strekk turned to Beya, who looked like she wanted the ground to swallow her up.::

Strekk: See, I said I needed to go to the top. The President no less!

:: Sal felt his jaw tighten. It was muddy waters to navigate a conversation with someone as … passionate… as Strekk. His focus wasn’t always on rational facts or conclusions. He has a soap box and he was determined to preach it.::

Taybrim: All right, then show me your proof. ::he tossed the burden into Strekk’s lap:::

Strekk: Right! Follow me….

:: The crazed professor took Sal by the hand and practically pulled him over to a bench piled high in tube, pipes and dishes.::

Taybrim: Ok, Professor, what am I looking at? ::he glanced around curiously trying to decipher exactly what was going on in the Professor’s experiments::

:: The professor didn’t respond, but took a bottle of gold dew from amongst his stash in the cupboard, and poured a teaspoon full into a dish.::

Strekk: Sadly this is the only sample I have with me, this goldie brew! But watch!!!!

:: Beya put her fingers in her ears, and closed her eyes. She knew what was coming..::

Taybrim: I’m watching… ::tentative, not knowing what to expect, but he felt the empathic surge of excitement, and expectation as Strekk’s assistant flinched.::

Strekk: Now, we just need a few drops of Fenzor-halpamine...

:: Strekk took another tube of a dark coloured liquid and tipped it into the dish. There was a slight fizzle, but then nothing happened. Strekk frowned.::

Strekk: Urm…

Taybrim: ::He blinked:: Well, that’s interesting… ::he started.::

Strekk: It worked last time…. ::scratching his head::

Taybrim: ::he canted his head:: That’s an inedible chemical, why would it get mixed with a liquor?

Strekk: Well, that’s the thing, you see… it shouldn’t get mixed, but we don’t live in *should* land. just watch if I increase the amount…

Taybrim: ::Sal gave a patient sigh:: Yes, professor. I am watching. ::Again.::

:: The Professor increased the additive of fenzor-halpamine to the mixture, then wiped his brow. He tipped the brew into the dish, and the fizzing started again.::

Strekk: Here we go!

:: Beya covered her ears again.::

Taybrim: I’m ready… ::Following Beya’s lead he covered his ears. Just in case.::

:: The fizzing increased, followed by a spark. Within a few seconds the whole dish ignited.::

:: FWOOOOM!!::

:: A cloud of blue smoke rose from the bench, and scorch marks replaced the dish, which had vanished.::

Strekk: There you are!

::Sal blinked, jaw dropping. That was not exactly what he had expected.::

Taybrim: Ok, you have piqued my curiosity. ::Very much piqued his curiosity. The stacks and stacks of information on the Annabelle’s Lament was clear - this was the last cargo the ship had taken on before it blew up.:: Tell me, Professor, could this be used as a weapon?

:: Strekk shook his head.::

Strekk: It’s so unstable, I doubt it could be used as a weapon per se, unless the criminal wanted to blow himself up in the process.

::Rocking on his feet the Betazed mulled it all over. Instantaneous reactions were not usually useful for anything more than a big yellow caution flag. Be careful of this! So the idea that someone had specifically used Gold Dew to blow the Lament was at face value slim. Then again new and fashionable Gold Dew had been transported all over this quadrant over the last three months in a large number of ships - many that took less transporting precautions than the Annabelle’s Lament. And none of them had blown up.

What made this one different?::

Taybrim: How many chemicals have you tested to get this reaction? Is it only certain subsets?

:: Strekk frowned and then looked at his notes.::

Strekk: Well, most of the additives are halpamine based, as they create the fastest reaction. Others I have looked at include the whole range of potential accelerants that may be found in these parts, such as hydrogen sulphide, nitrous oxide and less common ones like calcium trisulfanese. Their effects are slower, which is either a good thing if you want to manipulate the longer term results, or a bad thing if you just want some pyrotechnics. Either way, people shouldn’t be drinking this!

::Sal listened as the professor rattled on, working the chemical combinations together in his brain. He was pretty impressed - Strekk must have been dedicated to turn up such results. Halpamine based compounds were extremely rare, and almost all of them were used in flushing out warp coils and other engineering tasks where you cleared the entire ship for a week while the nasty chemicals did their jobs. Hydrogen Sulphide and Nitrous Oxide were both gases and getting them to integrate with the alcohol in enough quantity to cause a reaction was quite a laboratory exercise. Unlikely to ever occur outside of the lab unless there were extremely unusual conditions. It made Sal wonder how many times the professor had to run his tests before he got his desired results. In fact, all of these chemical combinations were nearly impossible to be naturally occurring. An accident mixing the two would be a fluke.

Unless it was engineered. Which was what Sal was wondering when it came to exploding freighters. Which brought his mind back to the last chemical on the list. Calcium trisulfanese was commonly used as a fertilizer in terraforming. That was something that needed further investigation::

Taybrim: And you tested all these chemicals?

Strekk: Yes, yes I have but only in small amounts. It was hard for me to get it in any quantity. But what I have done is enough for alarm. Are you in agreement?

Taybrim: Yes, professor. ::he nodded:: I will let the proper authorities know about the dangers of the liquor. ::He reassured. It would take time, because for now the risks seemed miniscule outside of the specially controlled conditions in Strekk’s experiments. However if a freighters demise was linked to the same substances people might find the newest cocktail pulled from the market.::

Strekk: The sooner the better! :: His scowling face then softened slightly:: ..but I appreciate the wheels of bureaucracy turn slowly. I hope I have been a help.

Taybrim: Yes, thank you, Professor Strekk. I’m glad you brought this to my attention.

: The Professor forced a smile, and then without another word, went back to his work. Beya stepped forward and offered a hand to the Commander.::

Beya: It was a pleasure to meet you Commander.

Taybrim: Good to meet you, too Beya. ::he clasped her hand warmly:: And you, Professor.

Strekk: :: muttering, not looking up: Yes, yes very good.

Beya: Bye...

::And with the Sal headed out. It was time to make some more calls and see how much Strekk’s findings played into this unusual little drama…::


---

To Be Continued…

JP by:


Lt Commander Sal Taybrim
Executive Officer
StarBase 118 Ops

&

Doctor Strekk (PNPC)
Professor of Bio-chemistry

Simmed By:
Captain Leo Handley-Page
Commanding Officer; Starbase118 Ops
wiki.starbase118.net/wiki/index.php?title=Handley-Page,_Leo



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~Julian Beck
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